I'm pretty much sat right on the fence when it comes to the whole 'retro' gaming thing. Sure, I can see the attraction of going back to games you loved when you were younger, as with a lot of things from childhood they tend to be bathed in the hazy warm glow of memory. But nostalgia can be a funny guide, while some things were indeed better back in the day (wagon wheels, children's and films to name but a few) I've yet to be completely convinced computer games should be on that list. I'm pretty sure had I seen the version of Call Of Duty 3 running on my friends TV back when I was ten and just starting to get into gaming, I'd have gone home, looked at my poor old Spectrum +2 and cried. Yes I'd have enjoyed the hours I'd spent playing on it up till then, but having glimpsed the future there would have been no going back. I've no doubt a similar effect works in reverse in 2007 as well, as proud parents show today's young fledgling gamers titles like Manic Miner or Dizzy no matter how perfectly emulated it is on their stonking great PC's their kids will still look at them like they've lost their marbles however much they prattle on about the gameplay. Let's be brutally honest here, most old games are rubbish. Fact! Once the curiosity value to be found in seeing these old friends again passes all you're left with is horrible graphics, restricted gameplay, crippling level design and a vague sense that somewhere along the line you've just sent a perfectly good childhood memory to its death in a hail of shattered pixels.

But, I said at the start I was on the fence and here's why (I promise you this will eventually link into Metal Slug, trust me!). Once you get a few generations down the gaming timeline, past the Spectrum's, the Micros and anything that sold units on the back of 'arcade perfect' versions of Space Invaders or Pac Man and all of a sudden some of the games start to get worth looking at again. In fact, by the time you hit the mid 90's and the tail end of the and Megadrive era not to mention the launch of the PSOne and Saturn there are some genuinely classic games that honestly do hold interest today, even if you've not been playing games long enough to remember them first time around. A kind of 'Next gen retro' if you like.

And it's at this juncture that Metal Slug Anthology joins the debate (at last I hear you cry!). The original Metal Slug was released into arcades back in '96 (surely making this 10 year anthology release a year late?) and was a huge global hit, while side scrolling shooters weren't hard to find not many did the job with as much style, humour and downright mayhem as Metal Slug. Taking the conventions of the genre to the limit Metal Slug saw you wading through level after level of beautiful hand drawn scenery killing waves of bad guys by franticly hitting the fire button non-stop as the screen around you filled with explosions and gun fire. This compilation sees all seven (including Metal Slug X for anyone who wonders why there are seven games when the most recent is number six) Metal Slug games squeezed onto a single UMD and presented in an arcade perfect manor for your gaming pleasure.

Set in the near future that sees the world largely content under global rule, an evil underground rebellion has started to grow under the leadership of General Morden and before long they've waged war on the Regular Army (not much of a name admittedly). In a dastardly move Morden's forces have managed to pilfer all the cool new Metal Slug tanks that Regular Army scientists had been developing to help fight the war. With the Regular Army now on the back foot and staring defeat in the face it's down to Lieutenant Rossi and his newly formed crack unit, the Peregrine Falcons, to recover the stolen tanks and save the day. The battle between the Peregrine Falcons and Morden's rebellion continues across all of the seven Metal Slug games sharing story time with aliens, government plots, cyber terrorism, ancient ruins, uneasy alliances and yet more aliens just to keep you on your toes. Despite the war torn story however Metal Slug never takes itself seriously, favoring a humorous cartoon style over gritty realism.

Metal Slug games can hardly pretend to be complex, hit fire as quickly as possible to fill the screen with gunfire and jump around to avoid getting hit while moving steadily from left to right through the levels is about the long and the short of it, but such simplicity is a perfect example of where such retro design still holds up today. There is just something undeniably fun about the whole thing that draws you in and makes you keep playing. Like the best arcade shooters it relies on quick reflexes and timing to survive long on the tougher levels and while unlimited continues and a save anywhere option do dampen the challenge a tad, especially if you can remember the pain of pumping real money into the original arcade cabinets when the continue screen appeared, all in all there is more than enough over the seven games to keep you quiet for a while. All of the games play virtually identically, while there are small control changes between games they're not immediately apparent to anyone other than hardcore fans, graphically not much changes either, although there is a slight improvement over the series, as a quick flick between 1 and 6 shows, but the hand drawn cartoon graphics that looked good back in '96 still look good now especially on the PSP - so that's in no way a criticism.

On this PSP anthology you now have the ability to play in one of three screen modes, including the original 4:3 ratio and a nice new full widescreen mode which shows a healthy degree of consumer care that all retro packages would do well to take note of. The one technical problem I found with the whole package is the annoying degree of slowdown present in Metal Slug 6, regular split second freezes jolt amidst the otherwise ultra smooth experience and are disappointing considering the excellence of the conversion done on all of the other titles in the package. All of the games also offer Ad-hoc in the form of the classic co-op mode from the arcade. Taking up the rest of the space on the UMD is a collection of bonus material that while probably only of any real interest to fans is still nice to have and includes wallpaper, art galleries, and an interview all of which is unlockable using tokens won by completing the games.

It's hard to really fault Metal Slug Anthology, as a collection of classic arcade shooters it does exactly what it says on the tin and existing fans will be in Metal Slug heaven having the whole series so perfectly formed in the palm of their hands. Does it stand up to the uninitiated? Yes, to a degree, it's fun, playable and defiantly addictive. It lacks all the graphical bells and whistles you may find in newer games and it's never going to cause you to stop and think but sometimes in this world of photo realism and rag doll physics a bit of mindless arcade action is just what the doctor ordered.

80%

By Paul Newcombe

Comments

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  1. mirandy Unregistered 2 years ago

    this game sucks man i can finish this in 1day only

  2. lordbluerouge Unregistered 2 years ago

    I bought the metal slug 4 and 5 collection; big mistake. What pissed me off the most was the option for unlimited continues - you couldn't turn it off. This leaves the player with absolutely no challenge. They'll be able to polish off this entire collection practically within a day, let alone a few hours. I hate to sound like a hardcore gamer, but these shoot em ups games, metal slug in paticular. are built around the idea of challenging the player into beating the entire game off a single quarter. Once you'vr taken away that core challenge from the player, other then beating the game, the player has little to know purpose to return to this anthology. What would've been a better idea, is to have unlimited continues be an unlockable cheat as you progressed through the games collection (or even better, play a mini game in order to receive more continue, as seen in the home versions of die hard arcade) . Otherwise you'll be left with an unshakably strong case of buyers remorse and return the game for a full refund, like I did.

  3. the snow man Unregistered 8 months ago

    i would have to disagree with the other two , the hole point of metal slug is that u can just pick it up and play and put down in under an hour, thats why it is so much fun , if you are looking for a hard game you wont find it in metal slug but yet its still a fun game to play when u just want the shot the hell out of random bad guys. but either way each to ther own and i enjoy this game where other may not